In Barcelona several documents are being written collectivly, they collect the wisdom and the contributions of hundreds of people. These documents speak about the different levels in which we operate to bring change. They are all documents in progress, open and in constant improvement.

This is document is only one of them.

Specialized subcommittees have been created to produce content with the aim to add more specific documents to this first one.

We are changing the world. Completely.

1 – No more privileges for politicians, starting with those in Barcelona:

Drastic reduction of the politicians salary of the drastic political to put them at the same level of the populationś average salary

Removal of their privileges on tax payments, allowances, pension contributions (In Barcelona only this would save at least half a million euros a month).

Prohibition of pension set above the maximum pension for the rest of the citizens.

Removal their legal immunity for corruption cases. Dismisal of the corrupt politicians.

2 – No more privileges for bankers:

- Prohibition of any rescue or capital injection to banks or any actions for saving banks: entities in distress must fail or be nationalized to became a public bank under social control.

- Immediat and transparent return to the public coffers of all public capital provide to banks

- Regulation of speculation and sanctions for poor banking practices. Prohibition on investment in fiscal paradises.

- All properties acquired by foreclosures, should be rented in social regime to evicted families....

MADRID, Spain -- The crowd of three thousand sat patiently on the hard pavement of the plaza as the fourth hour of the popular assembly came and went. The issue was whether Camp Sol, a protest that had persevered for two weeks in Madrid's main square known as Puerta del Sol, would dismantle or stay on. Protesters were exhausted from living on the streets; there had been a few cases of harassment and tensions between groups; the infrastructure of the camp was fragile; electricity was scarce. The camp's legal team had kept police at bay but there were no guarantees that it would remain that way (a similar camp in Barcelona had been attacked by police the day before). And even if those problems were resolved, how much longer did it make sense to occupy this enormous public space? Had the movement consolidated enough to dismantle its most visible and symbolic gathering?

Camp Sol, MadridA slight, young woman addressed the crowd. Trembling from nerves but with fire in her voice, she said other camps were springing up like wildflowers all over the country. She had come from the western region of Extremadura, where protesters in different cities were sleeping under the night sky, prevented by authorities from pitching tents. "Our survival depends on Camp Sol," she begged. "If Sol disappears, the police will dissolve our camp and all the others in Spain." As the moderator was about to take another comment his telephone rang: after a few seconds, he told the gathering that thousands of students in Paris who had gathered at the Bastille in solidarity with the Madrid protest were being gassed by police. Many in the crowd vowed to head for the French embassy after the assembly (protesters in Barcelona remained at the French consulate all night blocking the entrance and it was forced to stay closed for most of the following day)....

Thus ended one of the many assemblies that have become the life force behind Spain's blossoming popular uprising. The decision-making mechanism is far from new: older folks here nod their heads remembering the hours spent in their youth trying to reach consensus. But Spain's young people have managed to transfix society and confound an out-of-touch political élite with their level of organization and ability to rapidly spread to other neighborhoods, cities and even countries. They do not speak the language of politicians and reject vertical models of organization. They reach decisions through consensus. They listen. They are inclusive. And what they seek is a profound transformation, one that transcends political parties and traditional methods of government; they envision a system that brings grassroots democracy rooted in the communities. Their weapons are their words and the social media networks.

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The seeds sown by Camp Sol are the assemblies and open mike sessions that have spread to hundreds of neighborhoods, towns and villages across Spain. Although there is a prevalence of young people, the movement is increasingly attracting older folks ranging from families with children to middle-aged professionals and retirees -- all deeply affected by the deep economic crisis and the government's austerity measures. Young "Indignants" in other cities such as Paris, Athens, Buenos Aires, Bogotá and Brussels have supported the movement with protests of their own. Organizers hope these assemblies will take over once the main camp is dismantled. Unemployment, social injustice, lack of true democracy, declining social services, rising costs of education and corruption are just some of the topics they debate.

"I am here to say that if the police takes my son away I will take his place, and so will many other mothers," said Gloria Agulló, a 63 year-old woman at a recent open mike session. "He has graduated from university and obtained a Masters degree but has not been able to find work in two years. Where else should he be, but here in Sol reclaiming his future?"

The member associations of 15-M now prepare for the post-camping era. Leading up to the temporary eviction of Barcelona and Lleida, they experienced a gradual decrease in the number of participants and media attention. After this episode, in spite of the present upturn, they know they will again lose supporters. However, they believe that the movement has to continue and they are already preparing the strategy: they propose a European mobilization at the end of June, the creation of a wikiparliament to formalize proposals, the development of Democracy 4.0 and the extension of the movement in networks through the suburbs and smaller cities.

Quote: The political intervention in Catalonia has revived the protests. This already happened in Granada at the beginning of the election campaign. The greater the political presence, the more protesters in the camps. Yet the members of 15-M are conscious that the near future will hold a decrease in demonstrators until the dissolution of the camps. Nevertheless, they don’t want the lack of presence in the streets to mean the end of this unprecedented movement.

The Laboratory of Political Ideas and Practice of the Pablo de Olavide University in Seville has welcomed the movement because, according to professor of Philosophy of Law Rafael Rodríguez, it is necessary to “create links and synergies” to facilitate the elaboration of proposals for social transformation. In the setting of this laboratory, Law graduate Francisco Jurado, member of 15-M and one of the founders of coordinating committee of Democracia Real Ya (Real Democracy Now), has explained how they are planning the future....

Wikiparliament. The methodology for decision-making in this assembly setting is still in debate. One of the ideas being considered is to create...

Translation of the conclusions of Manuel Castells on May 27 at the #AcampadaBCN #spanishrevolution#15M

Translation of the conclusions of the speach in Spanish of the sociologist Manuel Castells, professor at Berkeley University (California) and researcher at the Open University of Catalonia (UOC), on May 27 at the # AcampadaBCN – Plaza of Catalonia – to support the camps around the world and enumerate the conditions necessary to achieve real democratic change. Short version of the conference (in Spanish) http://www.vilaweb.tv/?video=6848 Complete version (47 minutes) http://www.vilaweb.tv/?video=6847

Fearful around the world, but united in the Web”

We are in a society where everything needs to be fast, but when we arrive at home we colapse. Therefore we should do what we want to do, like for instances create a new democracy, but slowly. Nobody is in a hurry, we have to make history, there is not need to rush. Others can run, we don’t, because we are advancing systematically. If not we will become the rabbit from Alice in Wonderland, running always with the clock. My long experience in social movements, starting with the May of 68 in Paris, where I participated actively, tells me that what we are living here, and in 706 camps more around the world, has substance, has roots, and whatever forms it takes and whatever will happen, this movement will continue. It will attempt to bring profund changes. Precisly because it is a movement of people not of organisations. People are neither created nor destroyed, only transformed. But is not going to be easy. When the powers that be realise what is going on is serious (because for the moment they don’t believe this is serious), they will react. And they will react probably violently because there are too many interests at stake. That is why it is essential that this process be slow and profund to reconstruct democracy. It must also have non-violence as a fundamental principal, which is already expressed and put into practice....

The M-15 movement in Madrid has decided tonight, after a four hour long general assembly that it will end its occupation of ‘La Puerta de Sol’ (main square in Madrid) on Sunday the 12th of June. The way in which this process will be carried out will continue to be debated and it is likely that a small permanent information office will remain. The movement will also continue to hold daily general assemblies in the square and it acknowledged that some people may decide to continue the occupation as individuals.

The reasons given for ending the occupation are varied. It is partly to address the growing problems associated with the camp, in regards to security and hygiene. However, more importantly it is part of strategy for decentralizing expanding the movement. This has already began, with a national day of action planned for the 19th of June and the creation of popular assemblies in hundreds of suburbs and communities all over Spain. The occupation is currently in its 24th day and the M-15 movement has vowed to continue its struggle for participatory democracy and social justice.

The mass protests currently sweeping through Europe are truly unprecedented and historical both in their creative and non-violent character and in their immense geographical spread. The oncoming exacerbation of the eurozone debt crisis — Paul Krugman yesterday warned that meltdown is imminent and that it’s “time to panic” — will only serve as fuel on the fire of this budding European protest movement.

Yet however inspiring this continental quest for real democracy is, it’s also worrisome to consider its possible fate. Yes, we have plenty of revolutionaries now, and yes, for the first time in decades we have a genuinely revolutionary movement here in Europe. Yet we have no revolution, and at this pace, we won’t have one anytime soon.

The reason is that while we have a movement, the movement has no direction. While we have plenty of ideals, these ideals are not yet embedded within clearly defined ideas. At times, it seems like the the epic clusterfuck within which we currently find ourselves has paralyzed us. Where on earth do we begin to unravel the Gordian knot?

The easiest place to start, logically, has been at the grassroots. In a beautiful irony, occupying city squares has become at once our last resort and our first step. Driven both by despair at the state of our world and by hope for a better future, we are all a bit like Antonio Gramsci, who famously subscribed to “pessimism of the intellect and optimism of the will.”....

Today at 1.30pm the spanish national police attacked protesters who had been occupying the steps of parliament since last night. There have been 11 injuries and at least 4 arrests. Maria Guillem, aged 42, received a facial injury and had to be taken away in an ambulance. She stated “I don’t know what happened, the police arrived and pushed me to the ground”. The protest is part of the M-15 movement, which is demanding a more participatory democracy and social justice. Today the provincial government and its ministers, many who are facing corruption charges were celebrating the constitution. Hundreds of protests in Valencia continue to occupy the streets chanting “No more votes for the corrupt politicians” and “they call this democracy and it is not!” Similar protests started last night with 2000 people occupying the steps of parliament in Madrid.

Translation of the testimonial of the person in a wheelchair in the pictures of the eviction of the Catalonia square (Barcelona). Published in the Vanguardia on the 1 June 2011

I am the person in a wheelchair who appeared in numerous photos of the attempted eviction in the Catalonia square in Barcelona, and I want to put a name to the controversial images. My name is Sebastian Ledesma Moran, I am 55 years old, and I want to make three things clear:

1) That the images are a true reflection of what happened there.

2) That the policeman (mosso d’esquadra, the Catalan police) was not defending me, as the minister Felip Puig and some media said, but that I was attacked as bumps and scratches left in the chair and caused by a baton blow certify.

3) I did not get any blow on my body because another mosso said to the one threatening with his baton (as shown in photo): “No, fuck not to this one, we would end up in the tribunals”

I also want to make clear that I am neither a hero nor a victim, not a “borroka” or, much less, an unconscious. I am only another outraged. I participate in daily activities at the Catalonia square, especially in the Functional Diversity Committee, which among other things, deals with issues of disability....

Earlier this week, Spanish protesters voted to break up the camp they had set up at Puerta del Sol. They made the right decision. Acampada del Sol served its purpose. It made the symbolic statement it was meant to convey, it created the strong ties that revolution requires. Now is the time to organize and move on.

And this is exactly what’s happening. To anyone who might be so deluded to think that the end of the occupations mark the end of the 15-M movement, time will tell how gravely mistaken they really are. Because underneath the surface of the calm, a genuinely revolutionary movement has been born that will continue to evolve and develop over months to come.

For one, the indignados have already announced a ‘giant march to reclaim democracy‘. Five protest caravans departing from Barcelona, Donostia, La Coruña, Cádiz, and Valencia on June 19 (a day that European-wide protests are scheduled) will converge upon Madrid a month later, on July 17, when protesters are scheduled to paralyze the capital entirely.

The initiative, proposed by representatives from Barcelona, was applauded by representatives from over 56 cities who united in Madrid for a national assembly last Sunday. It is just one of many initiatives popping up everywhere as the 15-M movement seeks to broaden its struggle and make it more dynamic than the static occupations allowed for....

The Spanish protest movement known as #15M has organised country wide demonstrations on June 19th - map with confirmed locations - in order to make a statement of purpose and to protest against the signature of ”A Pact for the Euro” or “Euro Pact”. The movement is rallying for European and global support:

NO TO THE EURO PACT: We are not goods in the hands of politicians and bankers.

The EURO PACT: New attack on democracy ONCE AGAIN.

ONCE AGAIN, the EU leaders endorse a policy misleading the public to the benefit of large financial corporations, instead of defending the citizens.

On 27th June, all European governments, including that of Spain, will sign in Brussels a major socioeconomic daylight robbery of an international scope: the so-called Euro Pact, by which the politicians of the European Union agree to legislate the orders of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), European Central Bank (ECB) and the World Bank (WB).

Failure to comply with these orders means, the rating agencies that have led Greece, Ireland and Portugal to the ruins (Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s, and Fitch) will resume their attacks.

WHAT DO THEY SIGN WHEN THEY RATIFY THE EURO PACT?

- The public sector salaries should be consistent with the competitiveness of the private sector, WHICH MEANS: further cuts in the public sector as it must offer the same benefits as the private sector´s derisory wages and increasing working hours. Including a sharp cut in the numbers of public employees.

- Therefore all countries should adjust their laws to the dictates of the banks, WHICH MEANS governments are ONCE AGAIN not legislating for the protection and interests of citizens but in the favour of large banking corporations and the markets.

- The retirement age will be delayed in all the countries in accordance with life expectancy.

- Enhancing competitiveness: linking wages to productivity, just like what has already been done in Spain with the latest labour reform which calls for more flexible redundancy laws, more flexible labour agreements and more flexible contracts, thus endangering the current system of collective negotiation of labour laws.

- To foster cheap lay-offs and Temporary Employment Agencies (TEA). The banks will lower the financial strains to encourage the hiring of workers, and in doing so will demolish the Social Security system and will be introducing the figure of “the perpetual intern and the perpetual precarious worker”.

- The freezing of all pensions.

- Reduction of social benefits.

- Reduction of the social protection systems, worsening the Social Security system.

- Reduction of spending on education, resulting in poorer results, which are conditions that favour and promote its ultimate privatisation.

- Increased direct and indirect taxes for citizens, small and medium businesses and penalties for not complying with the payment of these taxes through fines, interest, fees, etc.

- Changes to our constitution and that of the signatory countries with the aim of “adjusting the economy within the parameters of the IMF, ECB and World Bank” resulting in the loss of sovereignty of the people....

Four days after the police eviction and a day after the worst police violence since the start of the protests, the indignados of Madrid are back in the square.

There were tears. There were smiles. But above all, there were cries of victory. After a 4-day long standoff with police, who had evicted the square on Tuesday and effectively occupied it ever since, thousands of indignados (16.500 according to #acampadasol) tonight took back the square after yet another long march from Atocha....

eta: Quote: Interestingly, in abandoning the square this afternoon, Spanish police directly went against a government order that obliged them “not to allow protesters to return to the square at any cost.” The largest police union had previously criticized the government for the illegality of this order, requiring policemen to break the law in order to carry out government policy.

In just two days, the Spanish police has spoken out against the government and in support of the indignados — while at the same time beating them up.

Either the police has lost it, or the government has lost the police. Or both. Whatever way it may be, the predicted summer lull in Spain’s 3-month youth uprising has failed to materialize. So far, the holiday month of august has proven to be sizzling hot in the Spanish capital.

For the past three days, the streets of Madrid have been in the hands of the protesters — while a small army of riot police desperately cling on to Puerta del Sol and Parliament. Instead of subsiding in the wake of Tuesday’s eviction of the info booth at Puerta del Sol, the protests have rapidly and spontaneously intensified (pictures here!)....

Tens of thousands of indignados bring Madrid to a complete standstill in a spontaneous and defiant bid to reclaim Puerta del Sol from the police.

It was to be expected. When municipal and national police evicted and destroyed the 15-M information booth at Puerta del Sol this morning, destroying the spiritual heart of the protest movement (including the banners, pictures and pieces of art which had been so painstakingly collected over the past 2,5 months), they knew they were in for a ride.

That’s why they came with 300 of them, in 20 armed vehicles, blocking off the entire square and taking absolutely no chances whatsoever that the indignados would come back in larger numbers to reclaim the square. All day long, they kept the square hermetically sealed off, even closing the Sol metro station — one of the largest and most important in the city.

But what happened tonight — in fact, what is on display right now, as I’m writing this — came unexpected even for myself. Given the unbearable heat of summer, most madrileños generally flee the city to the countryside in the month of august. This is probably why the police only made their decisive move now, instead of a few weeks ago. They expected less resistance than before....

As the combined crew of EuropeanRevolution.net, TakeTheSquare.net and ROARMAG.org, we were in Madrid all weekend — talking to protesters and organizers in Retiro, taking notes, videos and pictures during the march from Atocha, shouting slogans at Parliament, and chatting the night away at Sol. What follows is our report on the incredibly inspiring events of the past three days, and the direction we expect the movement to go in the medium-term future....

Quote:

At 21.30, we arrived on Sol — the spiritual heart of the 15-M movement and Europe’s very own Tahrir Square. On our way in, we were greeted by a large banner that read “welcome dignity”. My anonymous Brazilian comrade and I ran ahead of the march and quickly scaled a high edifice to take some images and videos of the incoming marches. In a manner of minutes, tens of thousands converged upon the square from all six different entry routes....

Epaulo, if you are French Canadian, why not join the movement in Canada? Real Democracy Now Canada is committed to constructing the same type of movement built on the principles of direct democracy. Please, come on board! We could definately benefit from your knowledge of the events in Spain, and your apparent passion for the real democracy now movement.

Quote: It’s 2 in the morning on Monday, June 20th, and 1000 Indignados are still in the plaza, dancing, drinking, and watching Youtube videos of the day’s protests in Athens, Madrid, Lyon, and elsewhere on the camp’s projector screen. It is a well-earned celebration. The Spanish media is reporting between 100,000 and 150,000, but the Pirate Commission (Placa Catalunya’s resident hackers) have crunched the photographs, and are reporting that 275,000 people took the streets of Barcelona today. To put that in perspective, Barcelona’s greater metro area has a total population of three million. At the height of the march, around 6 in the evening, protesters filled the streets all the way from Placa Catalunya, the march’s starting point, to Pla de Palau, its end; a wall of protestors two miles long. Around the globe, early estimates predict that five million people took to the streets today in solidarity.

After two weeks of rain, conflict, delay, and media blow-back, this is a major victory for the Barcelona Indignados. They have led a global day of protest larger than any seen since the 2003 lead up to the Iraq war. There are weeks, months, even years of hard work and struggle ahead, but tonight, the men roaming the square selling one Euro beers and samosas are doing brisk business. Cigarette smoke hovers in the air, the leaders behind the commission desks are smiling for once, and couples sneak off to the tents for a little privacy.

What makes this even more incredible is that planning for today’s actions began only two weeks ago. The protests were coordinated to coincide with Monday’s EU vote on Euro management for the upcoming year. I have to repeat myself here: five million people were mobilized world wide in two weeks....

As of July 7th, 2011, the outraged movement in Spain has already prevented almost 47 evictions, according to the Platform of People Affected by Mortgages (PAH in Spanishhttp://afectadosporlahipoteca.wordpress.com/), which aims to defend the “right to housing”. From their website they are constantly making to ensure that families with financial problems avoid becoming homeless, denouncing that real estate speculation has led many families to inhumane situations. They also denounce the fact that, in Spain, around 180 evictions are executed each day, too many to be stopped....

..the link has video as well. check it out as the numbers are awesome.

#Spain responds to the call, masses take the streets against the Euro-Pact #19J #europeanrevolution

As the protests around Spain come to an end, the signs of weakness shown by the 15M movement over the past weeks: the frustration against the slow assemblies, the possibility of violence inside of the pacifist ideals (violence in Barcelona http://www.europeanrevolution.net/?p=539)or the lifting of the camps have been forgotten after the massive protest carried out in over 30 cities nationwide . According to the techno ant (map here)the protest happened in 98 cities internationally. The number of protesters is, as always, hard to know for certain. The main media source in Spain, El Pais, claims that around 200.000 people participated in the major protests, making the number probably higher.

In Barcelona a whopping 100.000 people marched according to most sources. It was larger than in Madrid where 35.000 to 50.000 people participated in the event. Some say, however, that over 100.000 were present throughout the day, it is truly hard to tell. Six columns initiated the protest marching towards Congress from different neighborhoods around Madrid....

The Popular March to Brussels that left the Puerta de Sol of Madrid on July 26th, is now at the Pyrenees. Until today, over one hundred people have decided to go to Brussels. The Marchers are, among other places, from Italy, Greece, Germany, France, Russia, USA, Cuba, Colombia, Mexico, Tunisia, Poland and England. Women and men of all ages are sharing this experience.

After twenty-three days on tour along towns and cities in Northern Spain, on Wednesday August 17th, early in the morning and from the city of Irun, the March will cross the border. Then, they will meet their counterparts in France at Baiona, where a warm welcome is prepared.

On Monday, August 8th, also the Mediterranean March to Brussels left the city of Barcelona in their journey to the Belgium capital. The Marchers are currently 21 and tomorrow it’s expected that several people will join up them. Besides, 12 participants have already confirmed their presence in the neighbour country, who will join up the March to accompany them to cross the border....

epaulo13: thanks for the thread. I was watching a video about the anti-papal protests over on Joe.My.God yesterday, and now, having read this thread, the slogan that kept be chanted during the video "nobody represents us" makes a great deal more sense.

There are a number of things I liked about the video, not least of which was the prominent display of the flag of the second republic. I think it helps place the letter reproduced in post #39 in place -- and why I would consider the letter to be exhorting, not hectoring.

Three months of struggle: an overview of the #15m movement and the #spanishrevolution

For the last three months Spain has been rocked by a wave of protests, occupations and direct actions carried out by a new grassroots political movement that is demanding a more participatory democracy and an end to harsh austerity measures. It is referred to as the M-15 movement, as it began on the 15th of May when tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets all over Spain. The demonstration was organised by an internet group called ‘Real Democracy Now’, who published a manifesto calling for an “ethic revolution” and critiquing neo-liberalism. The manifesto is short text that provides the ideological basis for the movement. The opening paragraph reads

We are ordinary people. We are like you: people, who get up every morning to study, work or find a job. People, who work hard every day to provide a better future for those around us.We are all concerned and angry about the political, economic, and social outlook which we see around us: corruption among politicians, businessmen, bankers, leaving us helpless, without a voice. This situation has become normal, a daily suffering, without hope. But if we join forces, we can change it. It’s time to change things, time to build a better society together. Therefore, we strongly argue that: The priorities of any advanced society must be equality, progress, solidarity, freedom of culture, sustainability and development, welfare and people’s happiness. (for full manifesto in English see http://european-citizens-network.eu/civil-en/spip.php?article42)....

epaulo13: thanks for the thread. I was watching a video about the anti-papal protests over on Joe.My.God yesterday, and now, having read this thread, the slogan that kept be chanted during the video "nobody represents us" makes a great deal more sense.

There are a number of things I liked about the video, not least of which was the prominent display of the flag of the second republic. I think it helps place the letter reproduced in post #39 in place -- and why I would consider the letter to be exhorting, not hectoring.

..my pleasure bagkitty. and txs for the video link. exhilarating! i'm happy to say that i saw anger but i don't remember seeing hate.

..my pleasure bagkitty. and txs for the video link. exhilarating! i'm happy to say that i saw anger but i don't remember seeing hate.

I had exactly the same impression... this was something that struck me too. People were being extremely loud and direct (not to mention witty) in expressing themselves, but I could detect no threat of violence apart from the regular police bullying tactics. Somehow I suspect that this is what democracy really looks like when large numbers of people are actively engaged.

This document presents the proposals and lines of action that, to date (15 June 2011) have been discussed and agreed by the Sol Camp Economics Working Group.

From the start, this working group has been divided into six subgroups with specific areas of work:

Employment

Companies

Housing

Economic Policy

Financial Systems

Global Economic Relations

Both the subgroups and the Economics group have operated via assemblies held in the street (in the Plaza del Carmen) with the participation of anyone who has wanted to take part. These assemblies have been announced in the zones earmarked for this purpose at the Sol Camp, as well as on the movement’s internet platforms, to ensure as many people as possible are aware of them and can get involved....

I had exactly the same impression... this was something that struck me too. People were being extremely loud and direct (not to mention witty) in expressing themselves, but I could detect no threat of violence apart from the regular police bullying tactics. Somehow I suspect that this is what democracy really looks like when large numbers of people are actively engaged.

real democracy..yes, very animated and energized yet so much more. non violence is at the heart of the 15m movement. i thought the pope issue was a great issue that needed to come forward. and then to debate it under the open sky was brilliant. in the sense that it's very much inclusive and empowering. ordinary conservative types could in time grow to respect the call for openness and democracy then eventually see their interests change. which brings us back to ﻿"nobody represents us".

eta:this post went weird on me. tried to fix it but don't know how.

epaulo, all I did was remove the extra closing /quote tag located immediately after your opening quote=epaulo tag. I removed a second one after the word engaged between paragraphs and inserted a closing quote tag after your very last word in the post. Just remember that all HTML and UBB tags in general must be balanced. Or in other words, for every opening tag on the left there must be a closing one on the right. You can nest tags within tags, but they can never be cross nested. For example, this won't work and not just because I inserted spaces for display purposes:

[ quote=epaulo ][b ] Some text[ /quote][ /b]

Note that besides there being spaces in the tags above which also causes them to fail, the above quote tags are at least balanced. For both opening quote and bolding tags there are corresponding close out tags of the same type somewhere following to the right. But the above tags are not used in proper order, however, and "Some text" should have been bolded but is not. The order of the ending close out tags for /quote and /b needs to be switched. Even if I removed the spaces, they should not work. I suspect the interpreter might try to make it work though or attempt to fix my bad tags with or without success.

So tags must always be balanced as well as closed out in order of use. When the UBB or HTML interpreter sees a bold tag, for instance, the very next tag it encounters must be a corresponding close out tag: [/b] or the tag will fail or cause something unpredictable to happen to your post. You had an opening quote tag and two close-out tags. And that sometimes causes strange things to happen to your post.

I had exactly the same impression... this was something that struck me too. People were being extremely loud and direct (not to mention witty) in expressing themselves, but I could detect no threat of violence apart from the regular police bullying tactics. Somehow I suspect that this is what democracy really looks like when large numbers of people are actively engaged.

real democracy..yes, very animated and energized yet so much more. non violence is at the heart of the 15m movement. i thought the pope issue was a great issue that needed to come forward. and then to debate it under the open sky was brilliant. in the sense that it's very much inclusive and empowering. i can see ordinary conservative types in time grow to respect the call for openness and democracy then eventually see their interests change. which brings us back to ﻿"nobody represents us".

With over a million people taking to the streets and squares of more than 50 cities, a powerful message was sent out to the newly-installed government of Mariano Rajoy: your honeymoon is over! As the Conservatives prepare to unleash their neoliberal fury over the crisis-ridden country, pushing for radical labor market reforms and drastic austerity measures, the Spanish once again find themselves at the barricades, gearing up for another spring of discontent.

In many ways, the mass rallies — with over half a million converging in Madrid’s Puerta del Sol and another 450.000 in Barcelona’s Plaza de Catalunya alone – were only just the beginning. While this weekend’s protests largely consisted of organized labor unions, the decentralized 15-M movement has called for another wave of actions in the spring — including a global day of action, a pan-European strike, and the re-occupation of Puerta del Sol on May 12....

Police charges against teenager students in Valencia (Spain) #primaveravalenciana

video

Demostration started at High School Lluis Vives, students protests by funding cuts in education and last week’s police repression with a result of 17 students under arrest and some injureds, some of them seriously injured. Today 14 students were arrested, four of them underaged, and 4 students injured. Police, using up to 25 police vans, dispersed the pacific demostration with brutality. For some hours Valencia downtown was taken by anti-riots police forces, dispersing students indiscriminately while they runs trying to avoid be beated by police clubs. Students cutted some streets while they scream “thefhs to jail and money for education”, neighbours suports students and criticized police actions againts this childs. Marga Sanz, spokeswoman from EU at Valencia’s Parlament, said “we’re in a city taken by police, seeing images of brutal police agressions to childs, journalists and any walking people they found”. Two of the students arrested last week were released with charges, 8 were brought to justice.

[Update] Hundreds of people assembled in the University to think about the next steps against the police brutality and educational cuts.

Solidarity With Today's General Strike in Spain
Across Spain today, the 99% are rising together in a national General Strike in opposition to the government's pro-business labor reforms and funding cuts to education and other services. In a country where over half of young people are already unemployed, these austerity measures - created solely to appease un-elected European Union bureaucracies and used to protect the interests of powerful international banks and wealthy investors - would demolish decades of hard-won labor rights by making it easier for companies to lay off employees and unilaterally cut wages.....

A day before the government is set to vote on Europe’s most dramatic austerity budget, millions walk off their jobs in the first general strike since 2010.

Millions of Spaniards are walking off their jobs today in a massive general strike and a series of protest marches against the proposed austerity budget and labor reforms of Prime Minister Rajoy’s 4-month old conservative government. As the Spanish debt crisis deepens — at 23 percent, unemployment is the highest in the Western world — financial markets and EU leaders are demanding even more far-reaching reforms and austerity measures than in Greece.

As a result, the Spanish government is set to vote tomorrow on Europe’s most dramatic austerity budget, with another 40 billion euros expected to be cut on top of 15 billion in cuts already announced three months ago. The austerity measures come after a series of radical labor reforms enacted last month that make it much easier for employers to lay off workers, cut wages and modify pre-existing labor agreements.....

Though the strike was on March 29th, the student strike had already started on the 28th, in the afternoon there were concentrations in several parts of Barcelona, and in the evening there was an artistic call to the strike with images projected on the wall of the most (in)famous shopping center: http://lasumablog.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/vaga.jpg

At 00:00 the first picket blockings started. By 3:00 am Barcelona and other cities were already showing signs of the strike: Many factories parallized, highways blocked with barricades, most of the main wholesale markets were closed and blocked, and the first detentions of picket groups started....

2 TWO CORRUPT POLITICIANS CONVICTED

Josep Maria Matas former president of the Balearic Islands and minister of the PP (Popular Party, the right wing party that won the latest elections) has been convicted for using illegaly public funds, disqualified from holding public office and fined for 11.625 €. Despite being sentenced to 6 years of jail, Josep Maria Matas is not in prison.

As in a bad movie, Josep Tous was arresteded just a few hours before being nominated general coordinator of Barcelona’s Council. The accusation is of being involved in a plot of irregular ITV (Technical Inspeccion of Vehicles)concessions. More politicians and businessmen have been investigated and arrested in this same plot. The three main political parties in opposition are demanding his cessation or dismissal as the second strongest man in Barcelona’s Council....

3 SELF-MANAGEMENT AND EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES IN THE OCCUPIED UNIVERSITY

On Monday 26th March an occupation started in the Faculty of Communication, in UAB (Autonomical University of Barcelona). This occupation was called by the students’ assembly, who organized two days of peaceful and informative demonstrations , which stopped normal teaching. In replacement of the syllabus, students had different kinds of alternative speeches and workshops that tried to promote the ability for critical reflection, in contrast with overcrowed teaching plans focused on a technical learning....

4. TERRASSA RESPON: A CITIZEN COLLECTIVE THAT SPREAD OUT ACTIONS AND INFORMATION FROM THE LOCAL TO THE WORLDWIDE.

The great alternative tradition of Terrassa is reflected in this group that brings together people from different regions of the world, built through a communication line an international diffusion.

The collective lives together in a common space where they develop their tasks, from the essential to the most innovative ones.

They have blogs where they spread the 20feb moroccan activity, another blog to publish local info, a livestream channel, and a team of writers and streamers....

"So the concept of 'democracy' in Europe is now a travesty; what matters is to install bankers as heads of state - as in Rome or Athens; impose a reactionary social and labour counter-revolution; and intervene at will to service the economy.

The destruction of Greece may eventually be seen as Aristophanes comedy compared to Sophocles tragedy in store for Spain. Spain is the fourth largest economy in the eurozone. If it goes down the EU goes down.

Millions refuse to lie down and see their lives smashed for the benefit of a few bankers..."

LONDON — Since the beginning of the debt crisis in Europe more than two years ago, defenders of the euro currency union have stuck to a basic argument: if the euro zone’s weaker economies would only keep pursuing policies of austerity, even as growth collapsed and job losses mounted, they would be rewarded by investors more willing to buy their bonds.

Yes, the social cost would be high, but over the long term economies would benefit from the lower interest rates that can come with the seal of approval from global bond investors. Or so goes the argument.

That approach, though, has failed in Greece, Ireland and Portugal. And now it is being severely tested in Spain, where the more the government promises to cut its budget deficit, the more foreigners are unloading their Spanish bond holdings.

Late Thursday, when Standard & Poor’s jumped into the fray by slapping Spanish bonds with a two-notch downgrade, it gave public voice to what investors have been sensing for months now — that it will be nearly impossible for Spain to meet its current deficit-lowering target amid one of the most severe recessions in the euro zone...

Hundreds of thousands take to the streets to denounce austerity and defend democracy as corruption scandals shake Spanish royal house and government.

Europe’s 2013 protest season finally kicked off this week. On Saturday, three days after the umpteenth general strike paralyzed Greece, a “citizens’ wave” of indignation washed over Spain with hundreds of thousands of protesters swarming onto the streets of Madrid and over 80 cities in yet another major popular outcry against the ongoing financial coup d’étât. In Madrid, clashes broke out and at least 40 were arrested after police sought to disperse protesters who had once more encircled Parliament.

Saturday’s demonstration in Spain was deliberately timed to coincide with the 32nd anniversary of El Tejerazo, an attempted coup d’étât by Lieutenant Colonel Antonio Tejero, who in 1981 led a military contingent of 200 armed officers as they stormed into Congress while it was in the process of electing a new Prime Minister. Although King Juan Carlos publicly condemned the coup, Der Spiegel last year revealed secret documents showing that the King privately sympathized with the coup....